Surgical



J. L. SOWELL.

SURGICAL APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYIO, 1916.

1,1 95,931. Patented Aug; 22, 1916.

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JAMES L. SOWELL, OF JASPER, ALABAMA.

SURGICAL APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

Application filed May 10, 1916. Serial No. 96,557.

b all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JAMES L. SOWELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Jasper, in the county of \Valker and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Surgical Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in surgical appliances, and has for its object to provide an appliance for use during accouchement for providing a novel form of harness for assisting the labor incident to parturition.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved appliance in use, Fig. 2 is a similar view of one of the pads and its connection, Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the stirrups, and Fig. 5 is a similar view of one of the pneumatic pads.

In the present embodiment of the invention two pneumatic pads 1 are provided in the form of rings, the said pads being similar to pneumatic tires in construction and capable of being inflated and having valves 2 for permitting them to be inflated. The pads are hinged to a sectional cross bar consisting of sections 3 and 4, the section 3 be ing connected to the pad by a hinge joint 5, while the section 4: is connected to the other pad by a similar joint. The section 3 of the bar has near its outer end a pair of threaded stems 6, and the section 4: is slotted longi tudinally from its outer end as indicated at 7 for receiving the stems, and wing nuts 8 are provided for engaging the stems to clamp the sections together in adjusted position. The bar 34, as a whole, is arched slightly longitudinally, and is designed to provide a rigid brace, but capable of adjustment for spacing the pads. Each pad is also provided with a handle or grip 9 at the opposite side from the bar, the said grips being at the outer sides of the legs when the appliance is in place. A stirrup is connect ed with each pad, each stirrup 10 having a foot plate 11, and having a sectional shank for connecting the same to the adjacent pad. Each of the shanks consists of a section 11 integral with the support and a section 12 connected to the adjacent pad by a hinge joint 13. The section 12 is slotted longitudinally as shown at 14:, from its outer end, and the section 11 has openings 15 which are adapted to register therewith. Bolts or screws 16 are passed through the opening 15 and through the slot 14 and they are engaged by wing nuts 17 to clamp the sections of the shanks together. It will be evident that by loosening the nuts 17, the sections of each shank may be adjusted with respect to each other to bring the stirrup nearer or farther away from the body in accordance with the size of the user.

In use, the device is arranged as shown in Fig. 1. The pads will be placed over the knees when they are elevated, and the cross bar 3'4: is adjusted to hold the knees separated to the proper degree. This bar also provides an arch support for supporting the bed clothing, so that it will not interfere with the operation of the physician. The stirrups 10 are adjusted to the proper distance from the pads, so that when the pads are in place on the knees the feet will fit naturally and easily into the stirrups resting on the foot plates and these plates may be padded as indicated in Fig. 1, the pads 18 being arranged between the foot plates and the feet. In addition to holding the knees in proper position and supporting the bed clothing the grips or handles 9 furnish a secure grip against which the patient may pull. The pads prevent any injury to ihe knees, and the physician is left entirely ree.

The metal parts of the device will be preferably of aluminum and the entire device is so arranged and constructed that it may be packed'into a very small compass, as for instance, into an obstetrical bag. In addition since all of the device is of metal with the exception of the pads it may be easily sterilized and the curved cross bar or yoke prevents infection during examination from the bed clothing.

In order to furnish a firm and rigid support for the connection of the sections 34L of the cross bar or yoke and of the sections 11 and 12 of the stirrup shanks and for the m handles 9 a ring 20 of metal is secured upon the outer face of each pad and the connections are made with this ring, the hinges 5 and 13 being connected directly with the ring and the handles 9 are integrally connected with the ring. lVith this arrangement all strain is' taken off the pad and they serve merely as pads to cushion the ring and to prevent injury to the patient from the metal parts. Because of the adjustable form of the cross bar or yoke and of the shanks for the stirrups the device may be adjusted to fit persons of any size.

It Will be noted that the metal rings are shaped to fit the knees, being tapering or roughly frusto-conical, and concavo convex, the concave surface being inward. The pads are shaped to fit Within the rings and to fit smoothly over the knees, that is, the rings and pads conform to the shape and contour of the leg in the same manner as though they were molded on the leg and the openings through the rings and the pads are to be sutiiciently large to permit the rings to pass well over the knees. The pads may be made to fit knees of any size by inflating the pads more or less. The valves for inflating the pads are placed near the lower edge eXteriorly.

I claim 1. A device of the character specified, comprising ring-shaped pneumatic pads fitting over the knees, a rigid ring connected with each pad, a sectional bar connecting the rings and hinged to the rings, means for holding the sections in adjusted position, each ring having a handle or grip at the outer side thereof, stirrups provided With shanks hinged to the rings at the end remote from the stirrups, the shanks being sectional, and means for holding the sections in adjusted position.

.2. A device of the character specified, comprising padded rings of rigid material adapted to fit over the knees, an arched bar connecting the rings and hinged thereto, a stirrup for each ring and having a shank hinged to the ring, the shank of the stir rups and the bar being adustable.

JAMES L. SOVVELL. lVitnesses:

CHAS. C. MCOALL, Jos. 0. POWER, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ,five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

